Kings, Lords and Commons, by the rich and the poor—
By Oxford and Cambridge, by linguists, by all,
By the foes of old England, far and near, great and small.
Actions engraved on the hearts of the people,
And telling their story from steeple to steeple.
Virtues in Heaven’s blest mansions recorded,
Where the vile never go, and the pure are rewarded.
I care not for critics, ’cased in temples of marble,
Sending forth bombshells and missiles of garble,
’Gainst the wide reputation of Dudley’s great Earl,—